General Principles

Canine activities at SCA events should be:

• Safe- for humans, animals and the site
• Educational - we are a nonprofit organization researching and recreating the Middle Ages and Renaissance
• Fun - the real reason we do this
• Others?
• Details?

Safe:

• Humans and animals should be healthy and physically/mentally prepared when the event starts (at the very least, no signs of contagious illness? hopefully wouldn't need shot records)
• Activities should be safe, utilizing best practices/principles gleaned from real-world canine activities
• Accessory animals (eg. geese for herding or rats for scent work) should be treated humanely.
• Activities should be compatible with mundane dog training - no nasty surprises like a blind dead-end tunnel that looks like a standard agility tunnel
• Equipment should be safe for the dogs, the handlers, and accessory animals, and not damage the site.
• Set-ups should also consider bystander safety, especially children who might be tempted to play on agility equipment or run through a lure course and trip on the lines

Educational:

• Activities should

encourage an appreciation of the period bond between humans and their dogs give our dogs the chance learn to be "real" dogs not just couch accessories develop positive relationships with our dogs

• Emphasis on plausibly period activities done in a period way as much as safety and practicality will allow. For example:

period-based scoring for coursing, natural-looking agility equipment, medieval timekeeping techniques...

• Realistically, most actual dog training will have to happen between events, possibly with the help of non-SCA training professionals (see below)

Fun:

• Keep things flexible and accessible:

open to different breeds, different levels of ability, different training backgrounds (AKC, UKC, etc.)

• Competition can be fun, but not if it compromises safety or educational goals
• Don't have too many rules.

Activity Ideas:

• Classes - how to make a period-looking collar, role of terriers in medieval villages, etc.
• Recruiting/Demo Classes - this is my dog doing this cool thing, this is how I got my dog to do this cool thing and you can do it, too.
• Talent Shows/Research Presentations - this is my dog in a period-attempt at a pack saddle, this is my dog doing tricks based on "Of English Dogs".
• Functional Activities - lure coursing, agility, scent work, herding...
• Doggie Decathalon - the dog who can do the most different things well (only possible once we have a basic competence at a sufficient number of functional activities)